Ego Nwodim Responds to Shane Gillis' Gym Monologue Joke
SNL alumna Ego Nwodim offered a humorous retort to comedian Shane Gillis' recent comments about women's attire at the gym.
Saturday Night Live alumna Ego Nwodim responded to a controversial joke made by comedian Shane Gillis during his recent guest host appearance on the NBC sketch show.
During his opening monologue, Gillis, 38, remarked that women gymgoers "just dress like w****s now," adding that they are not allowed to be looked at because they are filming themselves for social media. "I’m in the background of like 10 TikToks right now," he quipped.
Nwodim, who was a cast member on SNL for seven seasons from 2018 to 2025, posted a tongue-in-cheek response on Instagram Stories. In her first post, she shared a mirror selfie from the gym with her arm raised, captioned: "w**** reporting for duty." Her follow-up featured a picture of a pulled pork eggs benedict, with the caption: "getting my 30 grams of protein in after heuxing."
Gillis' monologue also included observations about men at the gym and the attire of women, describing activewear as "neon" and "artificial bait-colored" with wrinkles that "go around the cheeks and all combine at the butthole."
As a social media furor erupted over the monologue, "Schitt's Creek" star Dan Levy denounced Gillis' remarks in an Instagram video. "Women wearing short shorts at the gym does not make them ws. It makes the men calling them ws misogynists. There’s a difference there," Levy stated. He also noted the prevalence of men's nipples seen at the gym and expressed disbelief that such comments could be made on live national television.
Gillis previously faced scrutiny in 2019 when he was hired and subsequently fired from SNL due to resurfaced podcast clips containing politically incorrect jokes, including one with an ethnic slur. At the time, he was hired alongside Bowen Yang, SNL's first cast member of Asian descent.
Gillis issued a statement then acknowledging himself as a "comedian who pushes boundaries" and offering apologies to anyone genuinely offended by his comments. He was defended by SNL veteran Norm Macdonald, who had also been fired from the show for controversial material.
Gillis has since returned to prominence, with a 2023 stand-up special reaching the Netflix Top 10 in five countries. Nwodim departed Saturday Night Live last year following the 50th season, as part of a larger cast exodus.